


Even Children Get Older (and I’m getting older too)

by 0ceansgayt



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F, Kidfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 09:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13610283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0ceansgayt/pseuds/0ceansgayt
Summary: A cute little family/kidfic where Aubrey has a meltdown about her son getting older. Thankfully, Stacie is on the same page as her (because when is Stacie not on the same page as her wife?).





	Even Children Get Older (and I’m getting older too)

**Author's Note:**

> Because I’m a sappy whore and TOTALLY not crying about my own kids getting older. Not at all.

Aubrey had been tense all day. It wasn’t the kind of tense that you would expect from her - being married for years had changed her - but it still came with the rolling nausea deep in her stomach as it had for so many years. It wasn’t a big case, nor stress in her marriage.

She carried through the day barking orders at her interns, fiery gaze from her college days back with full force. Throughout the day she received periodical texts from Stacie - nothing more than their usual ‘I love you’s or emojis. The doctor was busy with her work and Aubrey with her cases, after all. 

It was almost a relief to leave the firm for the evening, employees gawking when she stalked out of the office in the late afternoon - she was usually there into the wee hours of the night, leaving only when Stacie called the office to summon her home for the evening. In the safety of her car, she dialed her wife’s number as she pulled out. 

“Dr. Conrad.”

“It’s me. I’m going to go get Emmett from school, if that’s alright with you?”

“Of course, baby. Is everything okay?”

“Just stressed - work is absolutely insane and I know you have patients all day.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, the firm had been busy for days - copyright cases, family law, and a defamation case. 

“Are you sure everything is okay?” 

“Yeah, love. You’ll be home for dinner?” 

“Unlikely. I had to pick up a few appointments for someone who left early - but I’ll be home before you go to bed.” Aubrey let out a loud sigh, though not angry. It wasn’t Stacie’s fault that no one around her was competent enough to do their jobs. 

“Oh, well, text me when you get done? I love you, Stace.” 

“I love you too, Bree. Be safe and try not to kill Em, alright?” There was a smile in her voice, infectious enough through the phone to even bring a smile to Aubrey’s face. The line went silent and she sighed - a soft huff of discontent - as she pulled into the school. 

She rolled down the window, a tight smile forced across her lips as the safety patrol volunteer leaned into the window. Aubrey loved being a parent, but dealing with other parents wore her out in a way she could never imagine - not that Aubrey was ever a people person, but this was so much worse. 

“Mrs. Conrad, it’s so good to see you again!” Aubrey had to bite back a scoff. They were not friends, and she was not Mrs. Conrad. 

“It’s Mrs. Conrad-Posen, like Posen law.” She shook her head, forcing the same smile back on her face. “Anyways, I’m here for Emmett.” 

The back door opened and the small blonde boy clambered into the car with the biggest smile imaginable. “Mommy!” Her smile was genuine now, nose wrinkling as she turned back to look at her son. 

“Em! I missed you today, baby.” 

 

A sharp honk had her turning back around - after checking that her son had buckled himself into his car seat, of course - and driving off with a flip of her middle finger to the mother behind her. You see, Aubrey wasn’t particularly good at being a parent - she cussed when stressed, screamed too loud, and was too tense. 

“Where’s mama?” The little boy’s eyebrows were knit together in confusion - a trait he got straight from his mommy. Aubrey felt her heart sink, face falling at the seemingly meaningless question. 

“She had to work.” It was soft, embarrassed. Of course, her son didn’t want to even see her. This was exactly what she meant when she called Chloe a week ago and said she wasn’t a good enough mother. Emmett tapped Aubrey’s shoulder, leaning forward in his booster seat with a small smile. 

“But I’m happy you came, mommy. You never get me at school anymore.” 

Guilt overwhelmed her, stomach churning again. No, she never got him at school - it was usually a task delegated to Stacie or Chloe when she wasn’t working. Hell, she even sent Beca more often than not just because she hated dealing with the other parents. Kindergarten was almost over, the year leaving as quickly as it had started, and she had missed out on so much because of her own stupid anxiety. 

“Well, I’ll come get you more often.” 

The little boy seemed pleased by this, smiling around a mouthful of goldfish crackers that were spilling out into the back seat of her pristine car. Aubrey resisted the urge to cringe, a fond smile working its way across her face. The familiar route stretched out before them, her body moving on autopilot as she made her way home. 

Emmett was in the back reading something - a comic book, presumably - and Aubrey had a wild thought. A bright grin spread across her face, happy and free, as she turned to look at her son. 

“Do you want to have some fun?” 

“What kind of fun?” 

“Secret fun.” Aubrey swerved off the familiar path, Emmett’s eyes widening in the back seat. This was so very unlike his mommy, who usually stuck to the same rigid routine right down to her breakfast every morning. 

They continued in silence, only the soft hum of the radio and flipping pages audible in the car. Aubrey grinned and pulled into the parking lot, waiting on her son to realize exactly where they were. 

“Mommy, why are we at the bowling alley?” 

“Well what do you do at the bowling alley? Think really hard.” 

Realization washed over his little face, pushing the thick framed glasses further up his nose and staring at his mother with a wide grin - crumbs stuck to his mouth and on his shirt. “Bowling? Are we going bowling?” He received no answer, only his mother holding the door open for him to climb out of the car. 

His eyes were alight as they walked into the bowling alley, clinging tightly to his mommy’s arm. There was a snack bar and a bright arcade, little blue eyes trained on the flashing lights coming from one of the games. Emmett looked up, pleading in his eyes, to see his mother fixated on the same game. 

A soft tug brought Aubrey’s attention back down to her side. Emmett was pointing at the game - one of the skill games where you were supposed to knock the tokens down off of the platform - with amazement in his eyes. She had always loved those games when she was a child. 

“Do you want to go to the arcade? I’m really good at that game.” 

There was a look of confusion on her son’s face. She had never done anything like this before, usually sitting to the side as Emmett ran around with Stacie, Chloe, and Beca. Aubrey idly wondered if she had ever actually had fun since she graduated from law school. 

Dragging two stools over to the game, she sat Emmett atop one and handed him some tokens. They played for what seemed like ever, faces pressed against the glass and screeching with delight when they knocked tokens off the platform and into the chute. Emmett’s hands and pockets were full of tokens, his little hands slipping down and depositing them into Aubrey’s purse when he thought she wasn’t looking - she was. 

They played until Emmett got hungry, whining softly. Anyone else’s whines would have sent Aubrey into a fit of rage, but her son only got a bright grin as she dragged him off to the snack bar. He tried his best to listen to his mother ordering, but couldn’t quite make out what she was saying around the sounds from the lanes and the bustling arcade. 

“I’m going to teach you something.”

“What, mommy?” He sat across from her, fiddling with a straw while they waited on their food. 

“It’s this magical thing called bowling alley food. Oh, the root beer is the best!”

 

Root beer? Bowling alley food? Emmett’s eyes were about to bug out of his head. He took his glasses off and wiped them with his shirt - maybe his glasses were dirty and he had gone with someone else. This certainly couldn’t be his mommy. 

Their food came and the little boy’s eyes grew impossibly wider. He had never known his mommy to buy things like pizza and fries, and he was never allowed to have root beer. Only if his aunt Beca and auntie Chloe watched him, actually. 

Aubrey offered him a sheepish smile, shoving a handful of fries in her mouth with grace that only she could have whilst eating greasy arcade food. Emmett ate, kicking his legs and sipping on his soda like it was the greatest gift he had ever received. Aubrey finally broke the silence, a tense smile washing over her face. 

“So, you turn six tomorrow.” 

“It’s my birthday! I’m really excited for my party. I hope Aunt Amy gets to come, mommy. She’s really funny.” 

“I hope so too, baby.” Aubrey smiled, head tilting as she took in the image of her little boy sitting perched on the stool. He was the spitting image of Aubrey, messy blonde hair sticking up wildly and a flush coloring his cheeks. She pulled out her phone and snapped a picture, sending it off to her wife. 

Aubrey: He likes bowling alley food and playing coin dozer. We miss you!   
Stacie: :o !!!! Aubrey Conrad-Posen, are you at the arcade?!  
Aubrey: Maybe ;) 

She set her phone down, looking up at her son again. It was nice, she had to admit, letting loose and just having fun with Emmett. It almost upset her when she realized how late it had gotten - she contemplated letting him go to bed a little later that night, but ultimately decided against it. She wasn’t a complete madwoman. 

“It’s almost time to go home, do you want to go spend the rest of your tokens?” She was met with an eager nod, not even bothering to scold the little boy when he jumped off the stool and ran across the room to the arcade. It was one night, Aubrey was capable of letting go and having fun for just a night. 

She cleaned up their table, depositing their trash in the wastebasket and wiping down Emmett’s spot before joining him in front of the wheel of fortune game. Aubrey’s smile was bright as she reached down, smacking the button just in time and watching a long string of tickets shoot out from the machine. Emmett squealed, gathering the tickets in his arms and folding them up, just like his mommy had taught him. 

They played until the tokens ran out, Emmett with pockets full of tickets and a wide grin. His cheeks were tinged pink from running around the room, Aubrey capturing pictures of his fun and sending them to Stacie. He was finishing a lap around the room when he pounced on Aubrey, all wide grin and sweaty hair. 

“Mommy, it’s time to go get my prize!” 

She pushed back the sweaty mop of hair, adjusting the thick rimmed glasses on his face before pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. As far as kids go - and Aubrey did not like most kids - he was absolutely adorable. Apparently he had inherited his mama’s excitability. 

“Of course. Do you know what one you want? I see a sloth up there.” Aubrey pointed to the large sloth, settling her son on her hip as she walked over to the counter. He laid his head on her shoulder, holding his mommy just a bit closer than usual. 

“Hi sir! My mommy and me won all of these tickets and I want to get that sloth up there!” Emmett rushed out, perking up from his place on Aubrey’s shoulder. She set the tickets down on the counter, cringing at her son’s improper grammar - but that was a lesson for another night. 

The teenager behind the counter scoffed, setting the tickets in the counter with a smug grin. If Aubrey hadn’t been holding her son, she would have slapped the stupid grin off of his face. She offered up a tight lipped smile, head cocked in a challenge. 

“I’m sorry, kid, you’re twenty short.” 

Aubrey saw red. Twenty tickets short? Couldn’t he just give Emmett the toy? It wasn’t like tickets were some magical currency - and she certainly paid way more than the worth of the stupid stuffed animal. She set her jaw, fire blazing in her eyes. 

“Listen here, you punk. I have paid for my tokens, I ate here, and my son ran around all evening buying tokens. If you can’t just give us the sloth - because it’s Emmett’s birthday tomorrow, not that you care - I’ll…” Aubrey trailed off. What would she do? Certainly not anything college Aubrey would have done, but she kept her face stoic anyways. “You don’t want to know what I’ll do.” 

The teenager faltered behind the counter, tossing the tickets into the wastebasket. Aubrey’s fiery gaze remained focused on him, watching him get the sloth down. The employee - Chris - slid the sloth across the counter along with some candies. 

Aubrey picked up the stuffed animal, handing it to her son before turning on her heel. She smirked - of course her intimidation tactics worked, they still worked on Beca and Chloe. 

“Thank you so very much, Chris! Emmett, say thank you to the nice man.” She tossed over her shoulder, tone sugary sweet and dripping with sarcasm not yet understood by the little boy. He lifted his hand in a wave, bright grin on his face as he clung to the stuffed sloth. 

“Bye bye, sir! Thank you for the sloth!” 

They stepped out of the bowling alley, both collapsing into fits of giggles. Aubrey wiped the tears away from her eyes, Emmett clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh away. The two staggered to the car, Aubrey helping her son into his seat as they started to quiet down. The car starting only added more giggles to the situation, Aubrey shaking her head. 

“Did you see —“ 

“Mommy! His face! We even got candies!” 

“It was —“ 

“Awesome! It was so cool. I can’t wait to tell mama!” 

“You think that was cool? Just wait until we go to the snack shack at the beach.” Aubrey chuckled, shaking her head. She was referencing Flo’s juice bar - despite only being her captain for a short while, the other woman was positively terrified of her. 

“It was so cool! You’re so cool, mommy. I love my sloth. His name is Slothy.” The boy babbled out around yawns. He rubbed his eyes, and Aubrey turned to snap a picture of him before they started their drive home. 

At some point during Aubrey’s soft singing, Emmett had fallen asleep. He was clutching his sloth, unopened lollipop in hand. She smiled fondly - no one had told her exactly how much people loved their kids. She thought, from her experience with her parents, that kids were good to have and a symbol of accomplishment in life. 

Little did she know, it was the greatest gift anyone could have ever given her. Even when the thought of a boy and his messes stressed her out, Aubrey had always gone above and beyond to do the best she could for their son. 

She pulled into the house, brow furrowing in confusion when she saw Stacie’s car in the driveway. Usually if she wasn’t home when Stacie got home, the brunette would text her and ask her to come home. Aubrey unbuckled the little boy, settling him on her hip as she attempted to juggle his toy and bags along with her purse. 

Making her way to the door, she let out a soft curse. No one had ever taught her how to do things like this - Stacie was usually the master at navigating through life with a sleeping child and full hands. The door swung open, Aubrey greeting her wife with a grateful smile.

Stacie pressed a soft kiss to Aubrey’s temple, taking the bags from her hand. It was so nice to see Aubrey spending time with their son that didn’t look or feel forced. She grew up in a home that was the picture of awkward perfection - children seen and not heard - and parenting was oftentimes hard for the blonde. 

Aubrey set Emmett down in his bed, pressing a soft kiss to his mop of wavy blonde hair. Pulling the covers over him and his new sloth, she turned to click on the night light. It had been months since he woke up afraid of the dark, but old habits die hard and she always wanted to make sure her son was comfortable and happy. 

She turned, whispering a soft good night that caught in her throat. Her eyes landed on the picture on the wall - her in a hospital gown holding newborn Emmett, Stacie smiling brightly wedged on the edge of the bed. Aubrey attempted to swallow past the lump in her throat, but it was no use. Tears welled up in her eyes as she exited the room, closing the door and leaning against the doorframe. 

How was her baby already six? It was like the years were rushing past her with no hope of slowing down. Aubrey jumped, feeling a gentle hand on her shoulder. Stacie offered her a watery smile. 

“Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one who was crying today.” 

Aubrey let out a shaky laugh, leaning into her wife for support. “Yeah. It hit me around lunch time.” She closed her eyes, letting out a soft hum as Stacie’s fingers scratched at her scalp. 

“It hit me this morning when I dropped him off. Wine?” Stacie pulled Aubrey down the stairs, prying the blonde away from the closed door she was staring at. 

“Always wine. A woman after my own heart.” 

“I’d hope so. Ten years later and I still know how you operate, Posen.” 

“That’s Conrad-Posen to you, madam.” Aubrey smirked, tucking herself into the corner of the couch. Her head tilted back, lazy smile on her face as she watched her wife move around the kitchen with practiced ease. How had she gotten so lucky? 

Stacie brought two glasses back to the couch, Aubrey graciously accepting one and holding her arm out for her wife. She settled in, pressing a soft kiss to dark curls. It was so rare that they spent evenings curled up together, Aubrey wanted to savor every moment. 

“He’s six.” 

“Not yet, there’s still another hour - and he was born at two in the morning, so technically…” 

“He’s six, Aubrey.” 

There was a soft sigh, followed by two sets of sniffles. Aubrey broke first, a pitiful cry that had Stacie pulling her just a little bit closer. She let out a small whine, setting her glass down and burying her face in Stacie’s neck, allowing her wife to hold her for the first time in what felt like forever. 

“Do you remember when he was born?” 

“How could I forget, Bree?” Stacie took a long pull from her glass, head shaking. “You two scared the shit out of me! You wouldn’t quit moaning and screaming and his heart stopped. Don’t you ever do that again.” 

Aubrey felt Stacie curl further into her side and she pressed another kiss to her hair. She shrugged, toes digging into the couch. “I’m sorry, I never meant —“ 

“Hush, Bree. I know you couldn’t help any of it. I love you.” 

“I love you too. God, how is he already six?” 

Stacie grinned, taking another sip from her glass as she delved into a long winded story about the day Aubrey went into labor, the ride to the hospital, and the day their son was born. Aubrey beamed with pride, adding in small stories from recent times. 

If he had to grow up so fast, the least they could do was lay together and reminisce - and cry, but Aubrey Conrad-Posen didn’t cry.


End file.
